In true MTV style, all relationships will be fraught with difficulty

Published Jul 16, 2009 at 8:12 PM

Receive the latest archives updates in your inbox

Whitney Port stars as herself in "The City." Can she survive her move to Manhattan?

Whether you are proud to admit it, a closet fan, or could simply care-less, by now most of us are aware that MTV's third-generation "Laguna Beach" spinoff, "The City," premieres tonight.

The show tracks doe-eyed "The Hills" character Whitney Port’s relocation from Los Angeles to New York, where she takes on a job with fashion maven Diane von Furstenburg.

According to the New York Observer, the producers -- perhaps sensing that Ms. Port may not have the show-carrying magnetism of, say, "The Hills" star Lauren Conrad --have also recruited long-suffering socialite Olivia Palermo (another DVF "employee"!) to serve as her guide to the mean streets of the meatpacking district.

But in true MTV-style, the pair’s relationship will be fraught with real-world drama.

According to the Observer, in a preview clip posted to People.com, Ms. Port is torn by her desire to attend a Palermo-hosted party, but fears her long-haired Australian rebel boyfriend Jay Lyon will disapprove of her new crowd.

"I don't see her as being somebody I'd really hang out with...They're like hipsters, you know," he warns her. "The one crowd you don't want to get into is like the rich kids, they're like art dealers' kids." (We're pretty sure Daddy Palermo is a real estate guy.)